HoneY
MaaPeya Da LaaDLa
5 May 2008,
Adam Gilchrist enjoys the retired life to the hilt. He has time to spare for his friends, family and in the thick of IPL activity, he has time for his sponsors too. On Sunday, he appeared for a Puma promotion as part of his brand commitment and made it clear that though he has retired from cricket, he has been enjoying the Twenty20 IPL action. He has always liked India, its crowd and its energy levels. And then there is Rohit Sharma, who he thinks is the most exciting talent around in India at the moment.
"Look, I am not going by his scores alone," he told. "He continues to impress me. Not just the way he scores, but his attitude too."
Gilchrist said the good thing of this first IPL championship is that it will throw up many such talents. "I don't have to mention Rohit and Ishant, they have already played. There is a bowler with the Knight Riders (Ashok Dinda) and Manpreet Gony from Chennai. This will get bigger," he said.
Gilchrist admitted that the Twenty20 is tailor-made for batsmen because that is what 'the crowd likes.' Is there a way out for bowlers to get a level-playing field in Twenty20? Maybe make the wickets in such a way that bowlers get more purchase? "No, I don't agree with such a move," replies Gilchrist.
"I would say, you make your grounds (in India) bigger. More like in Australia. There the bowlers have more options to use their skills to get the batsmen out. In India, the grounds are smaller and even mishits may clear the boundary," he explained.
Gilchrist was surprised to see the sensational IPL take-off and its effect on the Indian crowd. "I have not seen a sporting event topping a nation like this," confessed the former Australian wicket-keeper.
The Aussie did not want to be drawn into the controversy surrounding Shane Warne and Sourav Ganguly. "I did not see what happened. Obviously, there was a clash of opinions. But the authorities have made it clear that they will treat it seriously. They made a strong statement like they did in the Harbhajan case," he said.
The former Australian opener, who has the fastest IPL century so far in the competition, said his team, Hyderabad, was getting better and better after each match. "There are many positives from the previous match though we fell short in the end. We bowled well, we had a couple of good partnerships." He had also a word of praise for Chennai captain MS Dhoni who can hit any ball anywhere in the ground.
Gilchrist said he would miss Andrew Symonds in the Hyderabad team and he envied the position of Chennai before their clash at Chepauk on Tuesday. "Obviously, Chennai will have more confidence than us. They have lost only one match; we have won only one. Anyone can become favourites as there are many matches to go. I would like to be in Chennai's position," he said.
Gilchrist said he had no plans to start an academy in India but many franchises in IPL are keen to start their own academies. "I am happy to come back to India and there is a variety of ways to do this," he pointed out.
Adam Gilchrist enjoys the retired life to the hilt. He has time to spare for his friends, family and in the thick of IPL activity, he has time for his sponsors too. On Sunday, he appeared for a Puma promotion as part of his brand commitment and made it clear that though he has retired from cricket, he has been enjoying the Twenty20 IPL action. He has always liked India, its crowd and its energy levels. And then there is Rohit Sharma, who he thinks is the most exciting talent around in India at the moment.
"Look, I am not going by his scores alone," he told. "He continues to impress me. Not just the way he scores, but his attitude too."
Gilchrist said the good thing of this first IPL championship is that it will throw up many such talents. "I don't have to mention Rohit and Ishant, they have already played. There is a bowler with the Knight Riders (Ashok Dinda) and Manpreet Gony from Chennai. This will get bigger," he said.
Gilchrist admitted that the Twenty20 is tailor-made for batsmen because that is what 'the crowd likes.' Is there a way out for bowlers to get a level-playing field in Twenty20? Maybe make the wickets in such a way that bowlers get more purchase? "No, I don't agree with such a move," replies Gilchrist.
"I would say, you make your grounds (in India) bigger. More like in Australia. There the bowlers have more options to use their skills to get the batsmen out. In India, the grounds are smaller and even mishits may clear the boundary," he explained.
Gilchrist was surprised to see the sensational IPL take-off and its effect on the Indian crowd. "I have not seen a sporting event topping a nation like this," confessed the former Australian wicket-keeper.
The Aussie did not want to be drawn into the controversy surrounding Shane Warne and Sourav Ganguly. "I did not see what happened. Obviously, there was a clash of opinions. But the authorities have made it clear that they will treat it seriously. They made a strong statement like they did in the Harbhajan case," he said.
The former Australian opener, who has the fastest IPL century so far in the competition, said his team, Hyderabad, was getting better and better after each match. "There are many positives from the previous match though we fell short in the end. We bowled well, we had a couple of good partnerships." He had also a word of praise for Chennai captain MS Dhoni who can hit any ball anywhere in the ground.
Gilchrist said he would miss Andrew Symonds in the Hyderabad team and he envied the position of Chennai before their clash at Chepauk on Tuesday. "Obviously, Chennai will have more confidence than us. They have lost only one match; we have won only one. Anyone can become favourites as there are many matches to go. I would like to be in Chennai's position," he said.
Gilchrist said he had no plans to start an academy in India but many franchises in IPL are keen to start their own academies. "I am happy to come back to India and there is a variety of ways to do this," he pointed out.
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